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South Korea abandons developing nation status in win for Donald Trump, putting pressure on China to do likewise
- The US president in July named Korea in a list of countries claiming the status even though they were among the world’s richest nations
- Seoul’s announcement is likely to add to pressure on China to also drop the self-declared status, which grants World Trade Organisation privileges
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South Korea is abandoning its developing-nation privileges at the World Trade Organisation following allegations by the Trump administration that some countries were taking advantage of the status.
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US President Donald Trump in July named South Korea in a list of countries claiming the status even though they were among the world’s richest nations. South Korea has mainly used the self-declared status to protect its agricultural sector – it imposes a tariff of more than 500 per cent on rice imports.
“It’s difficult to be recognised any longer as a developing nation in international society considering our economic status,” South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a nationally televised address. “The government will do everything it can to provide maximum protection in sensitive agricultural areas such as rice in future WTO negotiations.”
The country’s finance ministry said in a separate statement that South Korea is not giving up privileges it has already secured as a developing nation and that the decision only affects future WTO talks. South Korea will also continue to honour WTO-endorsed agreements previously signed among developing nations, it said.
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South Korea’s announcement on Friday is likely to add to pressure on China to drop the status. Trump has repeatedly called for the world’s second-biggest economy to give up the privileges granted by the WTO.
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